any mods to improve gas mileage?

[Xtrykr]

I had my brother lose 75lbs when he sat in the passenger seat, car gained 5mpg!

jk.

[Bubs daddy]

The best modification to get better gas mileage is to modify your driving style. A LIGHT touch on the accelerator and trying to keep at constant speeds without quick braking is the best way to achieve better mileage.

My Versa is ALWAYS in the 30-34 range because I feather the accelerator, both on the freeway and leaving from stops. You'd be amazed how much your mileage improves by keeping a light foot on the pedal.

[Xtrykr]

The best modification to get better gas mileage is to modify your driving style. A LIGHT touch on the accelerator and trying to keep at constant speeds without quick braking is the best way to achieve better mileage.

My Versa is ALWAYS in the 30-34 range because I feather the accelerator, both on the freeway and leaving from stops. You'd be amazed how much your mileage improves by keeping a light foot on the pedal.

Yah, I totally agree! I do at least 60% city driving with frequent starts and stops, and I'm still able to pull 28-29MPG. I will be taking my versa for a road trip, and I expect to pull the 30-34MPG range easily on the highway.

[Diznum]

Sorry, let me be clear on what I do not agree with you on: First off: Your remark about the CVT destined to only get 28mpg! Where do you get that? I am consistently getting more than that whether I take Route "A" or "B", the Scan Gauge helps me see where I'm getting good and bad mileage and I adjust my driving to this information which I can do in my G35 as well and you can too. I'm not over inflating my tires, look at the specs and you'll see that on the tire it self, if you put your tires at 40psi you might get better mileage as well. Also if you think a Yaris, Prius, Civic is better in mpg, that may be true, but so is a Scooter, check out the weight of these vehicles and also their safety ratings, if I had one of them I would be caught dead in an accident or would not fair as well as in the Versa. And I know a few Prius owners who are totally ticked off at their mileage, nothing close to what the sticker says and they have found out that the on board computer (like my Scan Gauge) is giving false info as far as Mpg as well as other issues. A friend of mine was a little suspicious and she started checking the old fashioned way (using simple Math) she found out she was getting a consistent 35 to 38 mpg over a 6 month period of varied driving conditions! which is still good, but not that much better than my Versa and I paid a hell of a lot less than she did. Oh, and I have yet to use my cruise control, Hell! I don't even know if it works!! In Stop and Go City driving I get 28-30mpg. I'm glad your nephew is getting the great mileage in his Civic, but what tweaks are you referring to? Synthetic Oil? Inflating my tires to 40psi? Scan Gauge? May be you should have your Versa checked out, fuel injection could be out of whack.

[srellim234]

Diznum, it's not worth getting into a big conflict about, but I will point out a few things.

A. 28 mpg on the CVT comes from both the adjusted EPA rating on the 2007 model and from real-world reporting at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.doFor both the 2007 and 2008 model years, no one (44 cars) is reporting the mileage average overall for their Versas as being what you're getting. The only ones above 31 are over 80% highway. If you think those numbers are skewed on the low side, maybe you should be reporting your odometer reading and gallons used so everyone can see them openly on an ongoing basis.

Remember, offsetting your higher mpg are people here reporting under 25 and very unhappy with their cars.

B. I guess a definition of city/stop & go driving is necessary. I'm talking about true stop and go or many stops per mile for city driving. Not suburban style driving which is a light which may be a green or red light every 1/2 to 1 mile. Stop and go can also be the 2+ hours it takes to get 60 miles from Inglewood to Rancho Cucamonga on the freeway at 3:30 in the afternoon. Your description of Topanga PCH and a wide open 405 and Wilshire is not true city driving.

C. Who ever said anything about safety rating? That wasn't even part of this discussion. The safety features do make the Versa a heavier car than the others, which does affect mileage, but it's not exactly a Hummer, either.

D. Yes, I was referring to adding inflation to the tires and a Scanguage to my nephew's Civic. He might wind up with better than the 40 he's getting. Which is better than the Versa, including yours.

My Versa mileage is over under my name on the left. I keep it updated. I also enter it at fueleconomy.gov and at True Delta Reliability. I'm not thrilled with the mileage but it's within the parameters established for the car. At 28.6 overall on a blend of 45% true city, 55% highway it's probably about right and nothing is wrong with the injection.

[Diznum]

srellim234, let me also make a few points:

• I do know what the difference is between Stop/Go city driving thank you, driving up La Cieniga or Wilshire certainly constitutes that even at 6:22am! I do go home at 4:00pm and get caught in traffic on PCH and on occasion the 10. I do admit my driving on the Freeway in the morning is brisk, but when I take the canyons I use more gas similar to stop/go though I don't think as bad. The technique I use with traffic is try not to stop but creep with a big enough gap between me and the car ahead, I know it's hard but if you can do as much as possible it helps. I also try to time the lights so as to keep as many green as possible. Old techniques, but sometimes work. It's not Rocket science!

• Safety ratings were not mentioned initially, but I thought this was a discussion and I could contribute any information that should be taken into account, after all I now feel as if I'm on trial and have to defend my economy numbers! Yes it's no Hummer but 2700lbs+ is heavy for a car of this class. And I'm sure safety was one of the pluses with a lot of the buyers of the Versa including myself.

• Tweaks, as you call them, Do you even know what a Scan Gauge is? http://www.pureenergysystems.com/store/Scan_Gauge/It's a computer that communicates with the main computer on the car. It does nothing to the engine or the car, I have it programmed right now to give me real time INFORMATION as to what my gas pedal pressure is doing to my fuel consumption. I've inflated the tires within spec. These to me are not tweaks. What I call tweaks are Front Air Dam to improve Aero or Take out the back seats and interior panels or what ever to maybe reduce weight, or put an overdrive on, etc. Maybe you and those 44 other Versa owners should get a Scan Gauge, it may help you all with your driving habits and most likely get better fuel economy like I do.

Just because you and 44 other owners are getting less economy does not mean that's the way it is, it could mean that 45 people drive with a lead foot. I and I'm sure a number of other CVT owners are getting the combined numbers I'm getting and they as well as I have no reason to lie about it. Maybe it's a problem with '07s that they fixed with the '08s. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with your EFI? or?

BTW: I'm not in conflict with you, I'm just trying to put my $.02 in, Cheers.

[srellim234]

If you had read any of the discussions on the Scanguage posted here since last year you would know that I am very familar with it and its capabilities. I still intend to buy one when our family budget allows.

44 people with lead feet? No chance. One person from NH reported 36 mpg for one tank back in 2006 and was never heard from again. Most people quit posting. Fact is, the Versa is the only car out of over 2 dozen models that I've owned or rented over the years that I've been unable to keep an overall average above at least the EPA city estimate. FWIW, both times I rented the Prius (once for 5 weeks in Chicago and once for 3 weeks in Ft. Lauderdale) I averaged 62 and 63.6 mpg, respectively. I know how to feather a pedal and maximize the mpg. The 2007 Versa was rated 30 city, 36 highway. The new EPA estimates took it down almost 20% to where it is now. That's certainly not a result of lead feet; that's the EPA's test.

And, like I indicated before, why aren't Versa owners who are getting the great mileage not reporting the hard facts regarding how many miles vs. how many gallons they've put in their cars? I see a lot of anectodal evidence and hearsay but why aren't they posting the hard overall facts anywhere?

I track car expenses in a Dome book for tracking business mileage so I have every fillup and repair documented as well as the odometer reading at the start of every day since we bought the car last July. Those figures are what go into all my entries and updates. I can even tell you that the True Reliability mileage calculation is not as accurate as the fueleconomy.gov site. It has my car at over .2 per mile higher than it actually is. Michael Karesh and I have traded emails about it; his calculation program is simply different and can be skewed a little. Over time it gets closer and closer to the actual figure.

Since you have no reason to lie about it, have you firmly tracked your odometer and actual gas at the pump since you got the car or are you depending on the Scanguage and the occasional firm calculation based on mileage and gallons pumped?

[srellim234]

BTW, Diznum, reading our last few posts, this is rapidly turning into an argument of closed minds that really isn't going to solve anything. Rather than have it turn nasty, I'll let you have the last word.

[Diznum]

Dude, there doesn't have to be a last word, I'm not mad at you and yes I have tracked my mileage to the gallons used and miles driven. I only use the Scan Gauge as a guide for my driving habits, when I see that the real time mpgs are down I lift off the pedal a little to get the numbers up. I have not yet had the time to figure the programming for the average gas mileage. I am impressed with your record keeping, I can see where and how you get your average mpg. In the end the Versa is still is a remarkable automobile to deliver the comfort, room, safety and fuel economy for the price is unbeatable. BTW: I went to the .gov web site and I will post all my mileage results and I made it so it will be shared with anybody that wants to have a look.

[srellim234]

Thanks. At least one high mileage guy will be offsetting those low ones.

About what RPMs seem to deliver the best mpg while accellerating to about 35 or 40? I've asked people on this forum before and no one ever used a Scanguage to give a definitive answer.

[Onyxblue]

Unless you are really light on your foot and drive 45mph, I doubt you can get more than 31-33mpg on a Versa - I get 30-31 with 90% highway at 70-80mph. You may try a Smart car to get 40+ mpg

[srellim234]

The Smart requires premium gasoline, 91 or higher octane. That pretty much cancels out what you would save on the increased gas mileage. In case of accident it would, however, save you quite a bit of money. Since it's the same size they could just bury you in the car instead of a casket.

[Onyxblue]

At 6'4" I doubt I can get into a Smart - but you are right

[Diznum]

Hey Srellim234!

I had to take Route "A" this morning Canyons and PCH and 10 and La Cienega, so I had quite a bit of the to 40mph stuff. I was watching very carefully and it uses the most fuel from about 1000rpm to 1500rpm then as it's still accelerating I lift my foot off the gas ASAP and the mileage goes way up, from start 1.3mpg to 47mpg and keeps going up, to maintain my speed on a level road (PCH) I'm barely touching the gas and it climbs: 70mpg to 90mpg but that's until I need more power from the engine room to maintain my speed, than it goes down to 34mpg to 47mpg. The sweet rpms are between 1200 and 2000 with the overdrive kicked in (not the button). The CVT is an interesting transmission as it has characteristics that a conventional Auto trans does not have. Mine likes to get into that 1500rpm lug that others were referring to where you get that light vibration, I get that a lot going through the canyon climbing of all places, and because it's lugging I'm not at my optimal rpm and I'm using more fuel!(Lugging) and because I'm going up hill lifting my foot only slows me down, so lately I've been giving it more gas to kick down and that does the job the rpms go up but my fuel consumption goes down: 12mpg up to 24+mpg! When you're stuck on the freeway with your commute that as we all know is the most inefficient situation, but when I get into that on PCH going home the trick to better economy is light on the throttle, a Versa or any heavier car will eat more gas on acceleration but once it's going you can use the weight of the car to maintain momentum, like the way we used to drive our parents cars (Detroit Iron) that's where the Versa shines in heavy traffic, once it's moving I keep a distance away from the person in front and just try to keep moving. The Scan Gauge is fantastic in giving info on fuel usage, for instance I noticed that I was on the gas pedal when the car was lets say going 40mph, but I was not accelerating any more so I lifted my foot slightly, the speed stayed the same but my mpg's went up, a lot of times we give the gas and it's waisted like going up a hill, the car can't go any faster but we still push the gas, unless you push enough to kick down a gear you're just lugging, and that really wastes fuel(like when I go through the canyon up hill) so throttle manipulation is the key. I'm still learning how to drive the CVT and I also drive my G35 with conventional auto which is a different way of driving all together and I bring those habits with me to Versa driving. Whew! I write way too much!!!!

[v-driver]

Someone needs to make one of these for the Versa.

http://www.max-mpg.com/html/tech/main.htm

[srellim234]

Thanks for the info. You're right about the heavier car and using the momentum. That's what I do with my 2002 Buick Rendezvous. I've averaged 22.1 mpg over 70,000 miles with it's 6 cylinder engine. Not bad for a 7 seater SUV (although it is based more on a minivan mechanically than a truck). I pulled an average of 28.5 and 29.0 on two trips to Florida out of it.

I try to avoid that 1400 rpm "lug" like the plague. I've been accellerating trying to keep it steady around the 2100 rpm range. I'm guessing, though, that the best mpg comes from varying the rpms based on where the CVT is in its "shifting" cycle. Seems to work well for you.

I had hoped to get the Scanguage for Christmas but it didn't pan out. We spent the money as part of the trip to visit family in NC and FL for the holidays. However, my wife just asked what I want for Father's Day and my birthday (they're both in June). Scanguage is #1 on the list. GPS is #2.

I'm not big on modifications but I will put another 2 or 3 lbs in the tires today and I'm going to be adding the rain gutter mesh to the back of the upper and lower grills tomorrow to protect the radiator.

[Diznum]

Yeah you'll love the Scan Gauge, I like the trouble code thing as well as all the other stuff. The manual is really hokey and cheap, photo copy bad!! I 've been told there is more info on how to work the thing on-line. Another thing I considering is when I get my new wheels and tires, I 'll probably go with the biggest diameter I can: 19" or maybe even 20"s. The larger size would hurt acceleration but once you get rolling...

[srellim234]

Well, one thing at a time. I just came back from filling up the gas tank and boosted the air pressure in the tires to 40. Let's see how much that really affects the mpg since I'm not really changing anything else yet.

I am wondering, though, if that mesh behind the grill will increase drag in any way. Maybe I'll wait until after this tankful to do it.

[feloniousmonk]

Read this thread and take it to heart:zerothread/332123

Best mod for fuel economy: you.

Change your driving habits. Drive less. And if you must drive, fewer short stop and go trips.

[srellim234]

It is, but for those of us who already feather the gas pedal, combine trips, drive less, carpool, etc. we're looking to figure out ways to get more out of our Versas. I already drive in a manner that should be delivering better mileage than I'm getting. We're trying to figure out why. Is it the engineering on the car or a subtle difference in accellerating with the CVT compared to other cars?

I believe it's related to the CVT. In every model of car I've owned or rented I've always achieved better than the EPA ratings. Not so with this Versa. I'm becoming more and more convinced that something very subtle in my accelleration will supply the extra 2-3 mpg that will at least make me satisfied with the car. Maybe as subtle as 100 rpms at certain points while accellerating. I'm convinced now, especially after discussions with Diznum, that the Scanguage is about the only way I'll identify the way to get that much more out of it. I don't think just the change from 36 to 40 lbs in the tires will deliver as much as I'm looking for.

[srellim234]

Here's quantification on a couple of the quick and easy things (tire pressure and clean air filter) we've talked about:

http://finance.yahoo.com/famil...e-Air

I especially like the way they mention that people should not depend on TPMS to let them know the tires are underinflated. By the time the TPMS alerts you you've already wasted a bunch of gas.

If the system works and becomes mainstream for the major brands, those Czech self inflating tires could be a great invention.

[dannybye]

I am averaging 38 mpg from 5 tankfuls i use the scanguage to help me drive to the max. the one time i did not i lost 5mpg without even trying to be a bad driver. you've either have to have a real knack for driving for economy or you need to use a scangauge II

[srellim234]

For whatever reason I've always had that "knack" for economy with all the other cars I've ever driven, including averaging over 60 mpg with multiple Prius rentals. I just can't pull it off with the Versa.

I counted the obstacles on my daily route to and from the girls' school today. 8 stop signs and 10 traffic lights in just over 4.5 miles each way. The best alternate route eliminates 3 stop signs but adds 5 traffic lights and more variations in speed limits along with additional crosswalks in school zones, so taking another route won't help. It really does look like the Scanguage is the only hope to push an improvement in gas mileage to put me over 30.

[lordthygod]

Tips for better millage*Dont let anyone else drive your car(damn learning ecu's)

*very small throttle changes(as fine of a movement as you can 1-2 degrees if possible)

*Run good oil (i prefer Lucas oil with one bottle of the pure synthetic[the really thins stuff, way more power out of the motor due to reduced drag, normally it wouldn't matter that much, but it really really does in the versa, you'll pull harder in every gear with less throttle])

*grid you clutch off every once and a while(the versa has a very weird clutch, it can slip just a hair without you knowing)

*once you have you throttle control down you can learn to rev you motor out ail bit for better efficiency, start with very light throttle and increase 1-2 degrees ever 400 rpm(every cam profile change), rev 1st to 3500-4k and get right into 2nd and rev out to about 5k-5500, don't go any further because your not getting anymore power(less accelerate than up shifting while consuming more gas) and go right to 5th or 6th, note this only works when your first inline, other wise shift at 2800-3k, its only efficient to rev out if you can do so the entire way up to speed, otherwise your just wasting gas and looking like and idiot

*know when to down shift, sometimes a lower gear is less gas

*the versa gets better millage the faster you go(*note* this one really shouldn't be used)the versa seems to build alil bit of pressure(or at least way less vac)at above 75, holding the same throttle position the versa will get more more efficient as speed increases and can do 85mph with less throttle position than 65mph or you can keep the same throttle position and do 100mph and get 60 mpg, but the troopers don't like that...(believe me it works buddy of mine borrowed my car to go to nj and got caught because he didn't notice it climb to 100mph even though i warned him about it and i get about 32mpg at 65mph, about 40mpg at 75mph and about 45-50mpg doing 80-85mph) it also pulls harder in 6th because of this at higher speeds

*don't slow down if you don't have to

*keep a pace(don't speed up and slow down all the time, you don't have to pass every single person on the road, find someone doing 70 and keep pace with them)

[scarfe6]

What is a "learning ECU"? Does that mean that my wife is screwing up (scratch that) I mean hurting my MPG?

[scarfe6]

No ideas on what a "learning ECU" is?

[alonsorules8]

Engine Control Unit

[KimberKenobi]

I have a lead foot. I get 31-33mpg ever since I inflated the Camel's tires to 40 psi. (up from 27-28)

[Woogie]

Unless you are really light on your foot and drive 45mph, I doubt you can get more than 31-33mpg on a Versa - I get 30-31 with 90% highway at 70-80mph. You may try a Smart car to get 40+ mpg

I would imagine you would get better gas mileage if you cut the speed down a bit. Most cars get much worse MPG over 60mph. Try doing 60-65 instead of 70-80 for a few tanks.

[Great White Versa]

I would imagine you would get better gas mileage if you cut the speed down a bit. Most cars get much worse MPG over 60mph. Try doing 60-65 instead of 70-80 for a few tanks.

I thought the same thing, so when I drove to Salt Lake last weekend I drove slowly (about 65-70 the whole way). I wasn't happy with the mileage on the way there, so on the way back i went 'normal' speed (75-80) and got about 2.5 mpg better...

You might say that it had something to do with elevation differences (salt lake is a bit higher than Vegas) but the tank where I drove up and down Little Cottonwood Canyon (where Snowbird is) was the best mileage tank I've had since owning the Versa. I'm pretty satisfied with how the engine performs (in terms of efficiency) at high RPMs and think that I get better mileage when I keep the engine closer to 4k.